Slicing machine



May 8, 1934, Q WALTER 1,957,623

SLICING MACHINE Filed Nov. 21, 1951 &\

C/zarjes 75? 3/101 ild/zer INVENTOR WITNESS- gli Vw 5% (9 ATTORNEY 1 blade to overcome and minimize frictional drag,

Patented May 8, 1934 PATET SLICING MACHINE Charles Taylor Walter,

Chicago, Ill., assignor to 7 Industrial Patents Corporation, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application November 21, 1931, Serial No. 576,452

10 Claims.

The invention relates to a knife or cutter designed for slicing articles and meat in particular, such as bacon.

The invention provides a rotary knife intended chiefiy as the cutter for slicing machines, and

furnishes an article including a separator to effect clearance of the slices and eliminate frictional drag, with the result that the slices are delivered with regularity and uniformly spaced.

The invention is illustrated, in the present instance, as applied to a rotary cutter consisting of a blade having a spiral cutting edge and provided with a lateral lobe-shaped projection constituting the separator for detaching the slices from the all as will apear more fully hereinafter, reference being had to the drawing hereto attached, in Which,

Figure 1 is a front view illustrative of an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a side view showing the cutter applied.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view on the line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4. is a side view showing the cutter applied in one modification of the present invention.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and designated in the several views of the drawing by like reference characters.

The cutter, or knife, consists of a blade 1 which is adapted to be attached to the arbor or longitudinally extending shaft 2 of a slicing machine. This blade is formed so that the cutting edge thereof moves in a transversely-extending cutting plane at right angles to the axis of the shaft. The cutter has a spiral cutting edge and is provided with a lateral projection 3, of lobe shape, constituting a separator to detach the slices from the blade to overcome frictional drag and insure a uniform discharge and regular spacing of the slices. The spiral cutting edge is shown as comprising two distinct portions, the one designated by the letters a-c and sometimes referred to as the main or initial spiral cutting edge section, the

the cutting edge ac whereby a spiral cutting edge section is provided for the main or initial cutting edge section a-c. The radii b--c and b-d at opposite extremities of the dwell or intermediate section are, as previously indicated, substantially equal and the radius of the front end of the cutting edge d-e is equal to the radius of this intermediate or dwell section. In other words, the short radius of the final cutting section de is the radius which is next to the intermediate or dwell section. It will be observed, however, that there is a progressive increase in the radii in passing from the point 01 to the point e of the final cutting section d-e. This provides for a complete severance of the slices.

The separator 3 may be provided in any manner and tapers from a medial point towards opposite ends and inclines laterally from the cutting edge of the blade to move the slices away from the cutter to clear the same with little or no frictional drag. This separator operates by a wedging action in detaching the slices from the cutter.

To demonstrate the application of the invention parts of a slicing machine are indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawing including a table 4 and traveling conveyor 5. The article to be sliced, such as a slab of bacon 6, is placed upon the table 4 and advanced to the cutter l which is rotated in the usual way. The portion a-c on the cutting edge nearly severs the slice with the exception of a very small part '7. The separator 3 then comes into play to push the slice away from the blade, as indicated in Fig. 2. Then that portion de of the cutter in the rear of the separator 3 completely severs the slice by cutting through the part 7. The slices as cut drop upon the conveyor 5 in overlapped relation, as indicated at 8. The part 3 deflects the slices away from the blade 1 thereby eliminating frictional drag wholly or in part and insuring a regular delivery of the slices upon the conveyor with the result of uniformity in appearance.

Referring now more particularly to Figure 4, which shows the conveyor in the conventional horizontal position and the slicing machine moved out of the horizontal position and approaching the vertical. With this arrangement, it is possible to adjust the clearance between the lobe, 3, and the surface of the conveyor, 5, such that each new slice as it is severed and dropped to the conveyor, is firmly and positively pressed against the slice immediately preceding and, of course, also against the conveyor surface.

It will readily be seen that the lobe which brings about the pressing action will have acted before the slice is finally cut from the slab. This pressure causes adhesion between the slices, e1iminates displacement of slices with reference to preceding slices, and permits the handling of each group of slices as a unit.

What is claimed is:

1. A cutter or knife adapted to be attached to an arbor or shaft, about the longitudinal axis of which arbor or shaft said cutter has angular movement when functioning and in respect to which axis the cutting edge of said cutter moves in a transverse plane at right angles to said axis when the cutter is functioning, said cutter being constructed so as to sever slices from the forward end of a piece of material located at the rear side of the cutter and fed forwardly so as to be acted upon by the cutter, so that for a substantial peripheral portion there is a recessed portion which is followed by a substantial peripheral portion that provides a main or initial cutting section of gradually increasing radius which is in turn followed by a peripheral dwell section of relatively uniform radius, the radius of which dwell section is substantially that of the long radius of the main peripheral cutting section, and which dwell section is in turn followed by a final peripheral cutting section of gradually increasing radius, the short radius of which final peripheral cutting section is substantially the radius of the dwell section, said cutter having associated and movable with the dwell section a separator in the form of a lobe that provides a separator construction whereby cut slices are sep arated from the cutter as the cutter functions.

2. A cutter or knife adapted to rotate about a longitudinal axis when functioning and in respect to which the cutting edge of the cutter when functioning moves in a transverse plane that extends at right angles to said axis, said cutter being constructed so that for a substantial peripheral portion thereof there is a recessed portion which is followed by a peripheral portion that provides an initial or main cutting section of gradually increasing radius, which initial or main cutting section is in turn followed by a peripheral portion that provides a dwell section of relatively uniform radius, and which dwell section is in turn followed by a final peripheral cutting section of progressively increasing radius, the radius of the dwell section being substantially that of the long radius of the main cutting section, the short radius of the final peripheral cutting section being substantially the same as the radius of the dwell section.

3. A slicing cutter having a peripheral cutting edge portion that operates in a transversely-extending plane and which cutter operates by angular movement about a longitudinally-extending axis that passes through the cutter body, the construction being such that the peripheral cutting edge has a section which is spiral-shaped in reference to the cutter axis, the body of the cutter having a lateral projection that in a radial direction slopes inwardly but away from the cutter body also in the direction of cutting movement away from the body, which said projection is located on the cutter in the region adjacent to the long radius of the spiral cutting section whereby it can serve to separate the severed portion of a slice from the cutter as the cutter moves, said cutter also having a final peripheral cutting section of gradually increasing radius the short diameter of which final cutting section is adjacent said lateral projection.

4. A rotary cutter having a spiral cutting edge section and a gradually increasing followed by a gradually decreasing lateral projection adjacent the end of the cutting edge section and in the immediate vicinity of the cutting edge section to provide a separator to detach from the cutter the severed portion of the slice then being cut during a drawing cutting movement of the cutter.

5. A rotary cutter having a spiral cutting section, a final cutting edge section, and a lateral projection adjacent and intermediate the ends of said cutting edge sections, which lateral projection is in the immediate vicinity of the cutting edge and is provided for progressively pushing from the cutter the severed portion of the slice during a drawing cutting movement of the cutter.

6. A rotary cutter having an initial spiral cutting edge section, a final cutting edge section, and a lateral projection adjacent and intermediate the ends of the cutting edge sections, said projection tapering towards its ends and inclined laterally away from the cutting edge and being arranged so as to extend forwardly from the cutting edge and so as to force a portion of the slice from the cutter during a drawing cutting movement of the cutter.

7. In combination, a rotary cutter mounted so as to effect a cutting operation by a combined shearing and drawing cutting action and a conveyor element, said rotary cutter having a spiral cutting edge and a lateral projection adjacent the leaving end of the spiral cutting edge, said rotary cutter being adjusted with reference to the conveyor element so as to provide for a positive forward pressing action by said lateral projection during a cutting movement of the cutter and preparatory to the depositing of slices one after the other upon said conveyor element.

8. A machine for slicing bacon, comprising in combination a table along which slabs of bacon are fed in a forward longitudinal direction into position for slicing, a rotatable cutter having a peripheral cutting edge movable in a transversely extending plane about a longitudinally extending axis transversely located outside the path of the slabs of bacon being fed to the cutter, which cutter has a section of gradually increasing radius by which a spiral cutting edge section is provided, said cutter having rotatable therewith and extending along and radially inwardly from the cutting edge a lobe that is located adjacent the long radius portion of the cutting edge of said spiral cutting edge section, the front surface of which lobe gradually slopes forwardly from the cutting edge and from the general body of the cutter and radially inwardly from the cutting edge towards the axis of the cutter and which lobe is constructed so as to provide a gradually increasing wedge shaped portion whereby said lobe can serve to progressively engage, separate and push from the cutter, as the cutter rotates, that portion of a slice along which the lobe passes.

9. In a slicing machine, a cutter which operates by angular movement about a longitudinally extending axis which has a spiral cutting edge section along a peripheral section thereof, which is constructed so that by the angular movement thereof a substantial part of the operation of severing a slice of the material being cut is effected by a combined shearing and drawing cutting action of the spiral cutting edge section and which cutter has thereupon a lobe that extends forwardly and inwardly from the immediate spiral shaped in reference to the cutter axis, the body of the cutter having a lateral lobe that gradually slopes forwardly from the body, that slopes forwardly and radially inwardly from a section of the cutting edge and that is located on the cutter in a region adjacent to the long radius of said spiral cutting edge section whereby said lobe can serve to separate the severed portion of a slice from the cutter as the cutter moves in a manner to efifect a drawing cutting action.

CHARLES TAYLOR WALTER. 

